Republican Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan will resign his seat effective June 28 for an unspecified job in the private sector, he said Tuesday in a statement. 

Flanagan had previously announced he would not run for re-election to the Senate seat he first was elected to in 2002. 

"As I have often said over the course of my career in public service, it has been my extraordinary honor and privilege to have served the people of New York in both the Assembly and Senate," Flanagan said. "My life has been immeasurably enriched by the thousands of people whom I have met along the way, and I leave Albany with my head full of life lessons and my heart full of fond memories."

 

 

Flanagan's decision to step aside will be effective five days after the June 23 primary and comes months after a wave of announced Republican retirements in the chamber, virtually remaking a conference that had been previously known for its stability, comparatively low turnover and an ability to mantain the majority in an increasingly Democratic state. 

Republicans lost control of the chamber in 2018 after it holding it virtually uninterrupted save for one two-year term in 2010 for half a century. 

Some potential replacements for Flanagan as leader include Senators Fred Akshar and Pat Gallivan.